Left Behind
by Pirate.Rent-Head.Jedi Knight
Summary: Sequel to One Day I'll Fly Away.  Ellie abandons Jack, leaving him morose and determined to find her.  Unfortunately, a certain Chinese Pirate Lord may just get in his way.
1. Chapter 1

Left Behind

Rating: K+

Disclaimer: I'm a girl, which makes it impossible for me to be Jerry Bruckheimer. Unless he's not telling us something….

a/n: Hello, friends. This is the sequel to "One Day I'll Fly Away". I hope you'll enjoy it and REVIEW (cough). I'm aware this chapter is short, but it's more of a setup and teaser. Florencia, you know I'm counting on you. I may actually ask you for advice on my story. You, too, AbbieNormal.

* * *

One could usually gauge Jack's mood by where he spent his time on his beloved ship. When he was feeling particularly joyful or enthusiastic, he could be found anywhere among the rigging, the masts, or the crow's nest. When frustrated or angry, he remained holed up in his cabin. At times of adventure, excitement, or when he was looking forward to something, his home was the helm. Times spent in depression, apprehension, or exhaustion were at the stern of the Pearl. These days, he lived at the back.

Today was no different from the past week. Jack leaned against the railing of the Pearl, his face hard and expressionless, mouth pulled taught into a firm line, jaw clenched. At last count, he had only left the stern for rum and when "nature called." It was becoming a familiar place. He hadn't learned his lesson before, but he wasn't a man who needed to have things told him more than once. Women were lying, no good, dirty, rotten cheats, liars, and every other unpleasant word he could think of. With a sudden, unexpected, and incredibly powerful wave of rage, he pounded his fist to the wood with a cry. Rubbing his face with his hands, he regained his composure. He hadn't meant to lose his temper like that.

It was just… he had thought she was different. She had seemed different. Her wide-eyed innocence, proper upbringing, they way she had loved him so sincerely, so completely…. He thought that made her different. Apparently not. His promises to love her, to bring her anything she could possibly ask of him, going against everything he ever thought, wanted, or stood for by proposing _marriage_ just wasn't enough for her. He supposed she wanted the life of corsets, carriages, and children and had gone back to _Cristián_to get it. Never mind that the dog had abused her and threatened her life.

Daily he battled himself, fighting the urge to track her down, find her, and bring her back. He wanted nothing more than to throw her over his shoulder and keep her on his ship, no matter how hard or long she protested. But, inconvenient Reason always took over and reminded him: it was a big world. Who knew where she could be? Besides, the crew had never been particularly… fond of the girl. They had always hid it for his sake, but he knew. Along with reason was the annoying, pestering, enduring love he felt for her. If she left, surely it was not on a whim, he reasoned. If nothing else, she had lost interest in him, and sought someone else to make her happy. And God knew he wanted nothing more than for her to be happy.

It was ridiculous that he should keep falling into this position. He was Captain Jack Sparrow, for God's sake! To have three women walk out on him and still feel this horribly—it was ludicrous!

With a soft sigh he closed his eyes and remembered, for the thousandth time that day, to forget he had ever known Celeste Satine.


	2. Chapter 2

Left Behind

Rating: K+

Disclaimer: I'm a girl, which makes it impossible for me to be Jerry Bruckheimer. Unless he's not telling us something….

a/n: Okay. So, I'm a total slug. But I'll totally be better about updating. I swear. Reviews please?

* * *

**Two**

_Okay. __Its__ been a week. You can do this. You can go a night without crying. You can do this. You can…._ A huge, overpowering lump filled her core and rose to her throat, cutting off her air, forcing tears from her eyes. Within seconds, she was struggling to breathe, sobs racking her body. She kept her mouth clamped shut, trying to be as quiet as humanly possible. She didn't want people knocking on the door of the room she was staying in, asking if she was all right. Again.

She collapsed onto the bed, clutching the blanket for support, trying to ignore the fact that the other side of it was so horribly… empty. It had been some time since she had had to sleep in a bed alone; she had quite forgotten. She drew her arms around her waist, simulating the position she was so familiar with. Realization hit, and she slammed a fist on the mattress next to her. Her emotions were insane. Anger, humiliation, and shame seemed to be the most popular. It wasn't supposed to be this way. They were supposed to be together—_alone— _forever.

Giving up on sleep, she rose and sat at the window seat. She drew aside the curtain and looked at the sea. Silent tears, unnoticed by her, rolled down her cheeks as she watched the waves crash on the shore. She lost herself in thought. _I left to protect him, _she thought. _He won't want this. He didn't want to marry me, he certainly won't want this._ _Besides, he knew there was the possibility of this day coming. I told him. I _told _him!_ _Neither of us wanted to be tied down._

She placed a hand on her slightly rounded belly. _A baby definitely would tie him down_, she thought grimly.

* * *

"Mother's love, Jack, I refuse to send the crew sailing around in an aimless circle, pretending like we know what we're doing! I'm sick of this, and I'm sick of you!"

"Mr. Gibbs, am I," Jack asked, slightly drunk, "or am I not the captain of this ship? And if I feel like sailing in circles, than that is _exactly _what I intend on doing." Gibbs took deep, controlled breaths, trying to stay calm.

"Listen, Jack. We know you miss her. And that's to be expected. But the only way you're going to get over her is if you carry on like you've always done before. If you stay here, wallowing in pity the way you have for the past 9 days, you'll just fall into a nasty, drunken spiral."

"I happen to like falling into nasty, drunken spirals," Jack pouted. "Oy!" he shouted, after Gibbs soundly whacked him in the head.

"By God, we are _going _to find that woman! She is the only thing that makes sense of you, anyway!"

Jack frowned at Gibbs' retreating figure. Even in his muddled brain, he knew that he was right. He had carried on with his life after Annamaria left him and after Elizabeth well, _killed _him, and was perfectly fine. It seemed the only thing to do. That day, he was determined to go along through his day as though nothing had happened.

But, like most things, it was easier said than done. He remained on deck, close to the ground, wandering among his men, offering some order or assistance wherever he saw fit. His haughty bark was missing from them, but it was better than nothing. He couldn't bring himself to go belowdecks. He didn't want to walk down the steps, look up expecting to see Ellie cooking or cleaning something, blowing a strand of hair from her eyes… to see nothing. She was like a ghost, haunting him wherever he went. He could feel her on every part of the ship. Sometimes he found a long, gold strand of hair stuck to something. Without a word, he snapped it in two and threw it into the blowing, teasing winds.

He tried to project the façade of how he had been, but he knew it was false, and he knew that the crew knew it was false. He supposed there was nothing more to do than to keep up the charade until it became the truth.

* * *

When the sun rose that morning, Celeste decided she needed to find something to do to occupy her mind. She wasn't picky; she would be a seamstress, a maid, _anything_ to do. She knew that she couldn't sit and wallow one more day.

She stepped out into the marketplace of Porte Chercher. She flinched under the bright sun. Her week inside had made her vulnerable to its rays. She moved carefully, trying to keep her skirts from revealing her "condition." She looked to each vendor, asking for any sort of work, but none would have her.

The day was almost over, and she was exhausted. She silently cursed the little parasite that was sapping her energy. She closed her eyes. Jack came up around her and placed a gentle hand on her belly.

_"Now, love, you can't blame the child. It was our fault you know,"_ he trailed with a soft laugh. Her eyes snapped open and she whirled her head around frantically. Jack was gone. She frowned. It had seemed so real…. He had been there. She heard him, felt his breath in her ear. She shook her head. _I must be going mad_, she thought.

"Mademoiselle," a voice said. She jumped in fright. "I'm so sorry, Mademoiselle. I didn't mean to frighten you." She looked up. An Asian-looking man stood before her, dressed in very fine attire. He wore a wine-red suit jacket trimmed in gold, his jet-black hair slicked back and tied with a bow the same color as his jacket.

"Its all right," she said, waving him away with her hand. "What can I do for you?" she asked, rising.

"Well, I heard you were searching for work, and I come with a proposition." Celeste raised her eye, intrigued. "My name is Da Gang. I work for a very important lady. My mistress seeks a reader. Your voice is very smooth and beautiful. I offer you the position."

"Can your mistress not read for herself?" she scoffed.

"She cannot. She has been blinded long ago." Celeste looked down, embarrassed.

"What is the name of your mistress?"

"Mistress… Hai." She frowned at his hesitation.

"I have no place to stay, Monsieur Gang."

"You will reside in the Mistress's apartments. You won't have any more duties than to read to the mistress when she calls, or to see for her when she asks. She is a very amiable mistress. I assure you, you will be most comfortable. To be the reader for the mistress is a very high position. Seeing is the one thing she cannot do on her own. She has great respect for those who see for her and see accurately. You will not want for anything. If you do well, she will reward you handsomely and frequently." Celeste nodded.

"I accept."

"Then come with me. You will see her immediately."

* * *

Jack and Gibbs sat on the crow's nest. Gibbs was prattling on about something Jack had no interest in, but offered lewd comments whenever occasion called. His mind was far from the wenches in Tortuga. He was silent for a long while.

"Jack?" Gibbs asked. Jack stood quickly.

"By God, I am going to find that girl and bring her back. I don't care where she is, I don't care what she's doing! She is going to come with me and she is going to like it, and she is never going to leave again! Even if I have to put a cowbell on her in the day tie her to her bed at night to keep her from escaping, so be it!" Gibbs chortled at the unintentional innuendo. "Shut up, Gibbs. This is serious. I'm going to find her, and I'm going to find her now!"

"Jack, all the men are asleep."

"I don't care!" he shouted, and swung from the rigging to the ground. He pounded down the steps, shouting and yelling at the men, pushing them out of their hammocks, threatening horrible disfiguration to anyone who didn't immediately rise and go to their posts. He stomped to the helm, and grabbed for his compass.

It was gone.

He scowled. She was a clever little wretch. No matter. He was going to find her and find her soon, come hell or high water, and God knew he had faced both. He gritted his teeth and smiled a wild, insane smile at the sea and turned his wheel toward Porte Oiseau. It was time to visit his pseudo-wife's family.


End file.
